TerraPower announced Thursday that it has begun construction on its Natrium plant, making it the first company in the US to build an advanced nuclear power plant.
“This is a moment our industry has been waiting for for a generation. We’re not just completing a new facility at Wyoming’s first nuclear facility; we’re building the next generation of America’s energy infrastructure,” said Chris Levesque, CEO of TerraPower, in a statement.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based company began building its plant in Kemmerer, Wyo., in 2024, starting with non-nuclear manufacturing. Last month, TerraPower received unanimous approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to proceed with nuclear components.
The facility includes a 345-megawatt, sodium-cooled fast reactor equipped with a system that captures excess heat within the molten salt. Tapping a thermal salt battery can boost the plant’s power to 500 megawatts for more than five hours. By comparison, Seattle uses about 2,000 megawatts during extreme weather events.
TerraPower aims to have a nuclear fission reactor in place by the end of 2030. About 1,600 workers will be employed during construction, with about 250 full-time workers once the building is operational.
The Wyoming industry is estimated to be worth about four billion dollars by 2021; no updated statistics provided. Levesque previously told GeekWire that private investment from Bill Gates and others and a $2 billion federal grant means “we’re building that project without burdening the taxpayers.”
The milestone comes as the U.S. nuclear industry revives after a decades-long hiatus, driven by tech giants seeking to power data centers across the country and growing demands for power across the commercial, residential and industrial sectors.
Founded 20 years ago, TerraPower plans to build hundreds of its responsive machines, which are smaller and less expensive than conventional facilities. Using prefabricated components, the company believes it can compress construction times to just three years – half the time required for traditional plants. The most recently completed nuclear power plant in the US – the Plant Vogtle site in Georgia – took more than a decade to build.
TerraPower is already signing up customers. In January, the company reached an agreement with Meta to build 8 Natrium reactors in the US, the first two of which are intended to come online in 2032. If the full mandate is fulfilled, additional reactors will be operational by 2035. The company also has memorandums of understanding with state agencies in Utah and Kansas to explore potential sites in those states.
“The start of construction on TerraPower’s Natrium plant in Kemmerer marks a milestone not only for Wyoming, but for the future of American energy,” said Gov. Wyoming’s Mark Gordon. “I want to thank everyone at TerraPower for their work to date.”
